SHUAA issues $135m sukuk for Jabal Omar Development Company

SHUAA Capital, the UAE-based financial services group, announced the issuance and private placement of a $135m (SAR506m) dollar-denominated five-year sukuk for Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC).

SHUAA acted as the sole arranger for the sukuk.

The sukuk represents a fitting choice of financing for JODC, given the long-term nature of its requirements as a real estate developer and its focus on the holy city of Makkah.

It also reflects a growing trend for Sukuk issuances, which raised $97.79bn globally in 2017, up 45% year on year, and particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which raised more than $26bn that year.

Fawad Tariq-Khan, chief executive officer of SHUAA, said: “Sukuks represent an ideal financing mechanism for the long-term funding requirements of real estate, as reflected by the dominance of the sector in issuing Sukuks over the past 18 months in the region. In line with our growing role in both the Saudi financial and real estate markets, SHUAA Capital’s combination of expertise therefore made us the natural partner for Jabal Omar Development Company and we are delighted to support its successful Sukuk issuance.”

JODC is one of the largest listed real estate companies on the Saudi Tadawul Stock Exchange and the company’s Sukuk issuance will support its capital raising initiatives towards the growth and development of its real estate activities, specifically in and around the holy city of Makkah.